Saturday, December 03, 2016

Bill Hunter left a Chevy dealership with a Hugger Orange, X66, 4-speed Yenko Camaro. Street raced that and blew up the motor that night, towed it back to the dealership for the warranty claim. He was given a choice, they'd fix his engine, or he could drop $500 and get a new car

The Yenko didn’t see a dull moment during the first years of life. Bill street-raced the car initially, but in the early 1970s he pulled the motor and installed a radical L88 aluminum-headed race motor that pumped out more than 500 ponies. With this combination Bill terrorized the local tracks, making a name for himself.

Bill’s dad had always left the window stickers in all the cars he bought, so Bill stored the original window sticker for safekeeping and hung a copy in the window where it remains today. Lucky for him, his one-owner Yenko survived its racing days, as did its original L72, which was stored away just in case Bill wanted to bring the car back to its as-delivered state.

Muscle car collector and weekend race car driver Dave Beem spotted Bill’s unrestored Yenko three years ago at a Yenko Supercar Reunion. He just couldn’t believe that the car was still a one-owner original with a file folder full of all the original sales docs, Protect-O-Plate, and window sticker. Bill and Dave became fast friends and stayed in contact over the next three years.

Last year Dave visited Bill, talked of their love for fast cars and especially Yenkos, and whether the car would ever be for sale. After some thought, Bill said he was open to offers. Dave threw out a number to purchase the car. After a night to think about it, Bill accepted his offer. And just like that, after 47 years of ownership, the car was changing hands.